Scout thinks about all the people around her who seem to be doing just fine without having been taught through her school’s reformed educational techniques.
Every day Scout runs by the Radley Place to get home after school.
One day she notices something, and works up the nerve to go back and look at it.
A tree at the edge of the Radley yard has some tinfoil stuck to a knothole, and inside the hole Scout finds two pieces of chewing gum.
She takes it home, and, after some testing to try to make sure it’s not poisoned, she chews it, and does not immediately keel over and die.
When Jem comes home (he doesn’t get out of school till half an hour after Scout), he tells her to spit it out; when he finds out where she got the gum, he makes her gargle too.
Finally, the last day of school comes, and the Finch kids look forward to the summer and the return of Dill.
On their way home, they find another piece of tinfoil in the same knothole, and behind it a jewelry box, decorated with more tinfoil, containing two Indian-head pennies.
Jem and Scout discuss the ethics of keeping their find: chewing gum is one thing, but money is something else entirely in their code of conduct.
Soon Dill arrives, full of stories of his journey that may or may not be true – including news of his father.
They talk about starting to play-act something, but already they’re bored of everything they know.
Dill says he can smell death, and tells Scout that her end is nigh.
She tells him to shut up, and Jem mocks both of them for being (or pretending to be) superstitious.
He talks about Hot Steams, who are ghosts who wander the earth because they can’t get to heaven, but Scout tells Dill not to believe him, which makes Jem mad.
Scout suggests they play with a tire – sitting inside and being rolled around.
Scout goes first, not realizing Jem’s still angry at her, and he sends the tire-cramped Scout flying down the sidewalk.
The tire bumps to a stop, and a dazed Scout extricates herself, only to realize that she’s in the Radleys’ front yard.
As soon as she’s able to find her feet she runs back to the boys, leaving Jem to pass the Radley gate once more to retrieve the tire she left behind.
Calpurnia brings the kids lemonade, and Jem comes up with a new game: acting out the life and times of Boo Radley.
The game starts out simple, but gets more and more complex as the summer goes on.
One day Atticus walks up as they’re performing the scissor-stabbing scene, and seems suspicious of their behavior, but doesn’t explicitly forbid them from doing it.
Scout still has qualms about going on with the game, especially since she’s pretty sure that when she got dumped out of the tire she heard someone laughing inside the Radley house.
Character Profile:
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Scout: She suspects that Boo Radley is still alive and is in fact not bad in nature. She is fed up of the educational systems in school and keeps up her spirits by reading magazines and other literary sources to quench her thirst for new knowledge.
Jem: He is concerned about the anonymous gifts they receive in the hollow of the tree. He yearns to take them but has a strong sense of caution to do against his wishes. He comes up with the idea of putting up a play about the life of Boo Radley.
Dill: He follows Jem everywhere and is ready to do anything for him. He helps greatly in the play on the life of Boo Radley.
Atticus: He tries to encourage Scout to go to school and enjoy her time there inspite of the fact that he understood what she neede, he motivated her by reading to her interesting articles from the newspapers and magazines. He does not interfere with the children when they play the Boo Radley game, as he did not realise the level of its seriosness.
Boo radley; He seems to be more friendly with the kids in this chapter, he offers them gum and ancients Indian heads. He is deeply amused by the Boo Radley game and Scout thinks she heard him laugh one evening after their routing performance.
PHOTO BANK OF ITEMS MENTIONED:
A 1930’s edition of the Times Magazine.
The gum Scout found in the hollow of the tree.
The Indian Heads Jem found the next day in the hollow of the tree
Chapter 4 Summary/ Introduction:
Character Profile:
Jem: He is concerned about the anonymous gifts they receive in the hollow of the tree. He yearns to take them but has a strong sense of caution to do against his wishes. He comes up with the idea of putting up a play about the life of Boo Radley.
Dill: He follows Jem everywhere and is ready to do anything for him. He helps greatly in the play on the life of Boo Radley.
Atticus: He tries to encourage Scout to go to school and enjoy her time there inspite of the fact that he understood what she neede, he motivated her by reading to her interesting articles from the newspapers and magazines. He does not interfere with the children when they play the Boo Radley game, as he did not realise the level of its seriosness.
Boo radley; He seems to be more friendly with the kids in this chapter, he offers them gum and ancients Indian heads. He is deeply amused by the Boo Radley game and Scout thinks she heard him laugh one evening after their routing performance.
PHOTO BANK OF ITEMS MENTIONED: